[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 216 (Monday, November 9, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69220-69221]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-28487]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2014-0128; FRL-9936-85-OAR]


Release of Draft Integrated Review Plan for the Secondary 
National Ambient Air Quality Standard for Oxides of Nitrogen and Oxides 
of Sulfur

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of availability and public comment period.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing the 
availability, for public review, the draft document titled Draft 
Integrated Review Plan for the Secondary National Ambient Air Quality 
Standard for Oxides of Nitrogen and Oxides of Sulfur (draft IRP). This 
document contains the plans for the review of the air quality criteria 
for oxides of nitrogen and oxides of sulfur and the secondary national 
ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for oxides of nitrogen and oxides 
of sulfur (NOX/SOX). The secondary 
NOX/SOX NAAQS provide for the protection of 
public welfare from exposure to NOX and SOX in 
ambient air.

DATES: The draft IRP was made available on October 30, 2015. Comments 
must be received on or before December 30, 2015.

ADDRESSES: This document will be available primarily via the Internet 
at the following Web site: http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/standards/no2so2sec/2013_fr.html. Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID 
No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2014-0128, to the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments. Once submitted, comments cannot be edited or withdrawn. The 
EPA may publish any comment received to its public docket. Do not 
submit electronically any information you consider to be Confidential 
Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is 
restricted by statute. Multimedia submissions (audio, video, etc.) must 
be accompanied by a written comment. The written comment is considered 
the official comment and should include discussion of all points you 
wish to make. The EPA will generally not consider comments or comment 
contents located outside of the primary submission (i.e. on the web, 
cloud, or other file sharing system). For additional submission 
methods, the full EPA public comment policy, information about CBI or 
multimedia submissions, and general guidance on making effective 
comments, please visit http://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ginger Tennant, Office of Air Quality 
Planning and Standards (mail code C504-06), U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711; telephone number: 
919-541-4072; fax number: 919-541-0237; email address: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. General Information

A. What should I consider as I prepare my comments for the EPA?

    1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit this information to the EPA 
through www.regulations.gov or email. Clearly mark the part or all of 
the information that you claim to be CBI. For CBI information in a disk 
or CD ROM that you mail to the EPA, mark the outside of the disk or CD 
ROM as CBI and then identify electronically within the disk or CD ROM 
the specific information that is claimed as CBI. In addition to one 
complete version of the comment that

[[Page 69221]]

includes information claimed as CBI, a copy of the comment that does 
not contain the information claimed as CBI must be submitted for 
inclusion in the public docket. Information so marked will not be 
disclosed except in accordance with procedures set forth in 40 CFR part 
2.
    2. Tips for Preparing Your Comments. When submitting comments, 
remember to:
     Identify the rulemaking by docket number and other 
identifying information (subject heading, Federal Register date and 
page number).
     Follow directions--The agency may ask you to respond to 
specific questions or organize comments by referencing a Code of 
Federal Regulations (CFR) part or section number.
     Explain why you agree or disagree; suggest alternatives 
and substitute language for your requested changes.
     Describe any assumptions and provide any technical 
information and/or data that you used.
     If you estimate potential costs or burdens, explain how 
you arrived at your estimate in sufficient detail to allow for it to be 
reproduced.
     Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns, and 
suggest alternatives.
     Explain your views as clearly as possible, avoiding the 
use of profanity or personal threats.
     Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period 
deadline identified.

II. Information Specific to This Document

    Two sections of the Clean Air Act (CAA) govern the establishment 
and revision of the NAAQS. Section 108 (42 U.S.C. 7408) directs the 
Administrator to identify and list certain air pollutants and then to 
issue air quality criteria for those pollutants. The Administrator is 
to list those air pollutants that in her ``judgment, cause or 
contribute to air pollution which may reasonably be anticipated to 
endanger public health or welfare;'' ``the presence of which in the 
ambient air results from numerous or diverse mobile or stationary 
sources;'' and ``for which . . . [the Administrator] plans to issue air 
quality criteria . . . .'' Air quality criteria are intended to 
``accurately reflect the latest scientific knowledge useful in 
indicating the kind and extent of all identifiable effects on public 
health or welfare which may be expected from the presence of [a] 
pollutant in the ambient air . . .'' 42 U.S.C. 7408(b). Under section 
109 (42 U.S.C. 7409), the EPA establishes primary (health-based) and 
secondary (welfare-based) NAAQS for pollutants for which air quality 
criteria are issued. Section 109(d) requires periodic review and, if 
appropriate, revision of existing air quality criteria. The revised air 
quality criteria reflect advances in scientific knowledge on the 
effects of the pollutant on public health or welfare. The EPA is also 
required to periodically review and, if appropriate, revise the NAAQS 
based on the revised criteria. Section 109(d)(2) requires that an 
independent scientific review committee ``shall complete a review of 
the criteria . . . and the national primary and secondary ambient air 
quality standards . . . and shall recommend to the Administrator any 
new . . . standards and revisions of existing criteria and standards as 
may be appropriate . . . .'' Since the early 1980's, this independent 
review function has been performed by the Clean Air Scientific Advisory 
Committee (CASAC).
    Presently, the EPA is reviewing the secondary NAAQS for 
NOX/SOX.\1\ The draft document, announced today, 
has been developed as part of the planning phase for the review. This 
phase began with a science policy workshop to identify issues and 
questions to frame the review.\2\ Drawing from the workshop 
discussions, this draft IRP was prepared jointly by EPA's National 
Center for Environmental Assessment, within the Office of Research and 
Development, and EPA's Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, 
within the Office of Air and Radiation. The draft IRP will be reviewed 
by CASAC at a teleconference on December 1, 2015. The final IRP will 
include consideration of CASAC and public comments received on this 
draft IRP. This document also presents the current plan and specifies 
the schedule for the entire review, the process for conducting the 
review, and the key policy-relevant science issues that will guide the 
review.
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    \1\ The EPA's call for information for this review was issued on 
August 29, 2013 (78 FR 53452).
    \2\ The EPA held a workshop titled ``Workshop to Discuss Policy-
Relevant Science to Inform EPA's Review of the Secondary 
NOX and SOX NAAQS'' on March 4-6, 2014.

    Dated: November 3, 2015.
Mary Henigin,
Acting Director, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards.
[FR Doc. 2015-28487 Filed 11-6-15; 8:45 am]
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